A Witch's Journey Archives - Page 4 of 9

May 29th Memorial Day Thoughts

Memorial Day isn’t just the first three-day weekend of the camping season. Historically, Memorial Day is the U.S. federal holiday dedicated to the remembrance of those brave men and women who gave their lives while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

We celebrate Memorial Day yearly on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day and created after the American Civil War to remember the Confederate and Union soldiers who died in that war.

On May 5, 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic established Decoration Day to honor the war dead and decorate their graves with flowers. May 30^th was the date chosen by Major General John A Logan, possibly because by then blooming flowers should be available all over the country. Across the Potomac River from Washington D.C., Arlington National Cemetery was the site of the first large observance in 1868.

I find it interesting that according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs the crowd attending the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was about the same size as those that attend today, about 5,000.

After World War I, Memorial Day expanded to honor the men and women who died in all American wars. Memorial Day, often still called Decoration Day, became a national holiday by an act of Congress in 1971 and moved to the last Monday in May.

On Memorial Day, small flags are placed on each grave in Arlington National Cemetery, a tradition that many national cemeteries around the county observe today. In fact, the flag custom has grown to include many families that decorate the graves of loved ones as well.

To make sure that we never forget America’s fallen heroes, U.S. Congress passed in December of 2000, and the president signed into law, “The National Moment of Remembrance Act”. On Memorial Day, at 3:00 p.m., all American’s are encouraged to pause for a minute of silence, wherever they are to honor and remember those fallen heroes that made the greatest sacrifice for our freedom.

No matter how bleak things look, I still believe we live in the greatest nation in the world. If you don’t feel the same, maybe you should reconsider your locale. I can say that because I live in the greatest nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Happy Memorial Day!

If you happen to be looking for a great, feel-good, long weekend read check out A WITCH’S JOURNEY!

Pepper McKay comes from a long line of powerful witches. Unfortunately, magic brings her nothing but trouble. She learned the love of wildlife rescue and rehab from her Aunt Ashling. After graduating from college, Pepper works for Salem Wildlife Sanctuary and lives from paycheck to paycheck until she inherits the McKay property in Lobster Cove. With the family land and resources, she dares to dream of starting her own wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center.

Lathen Quartz, a former Navy SEAL turned handyman maintains the enchanted McKay property for the McKay estate. But someone is trying to steal the McKay magic. Lathen offers to help Pepper achieve her life-long dream of building a wildlife center. During the long hours spent together on the project, their mutual attraction can’t be denied. But each harbors a deep, dark secret. Will they overcome their demons and give love a chance?

Available at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble KOBO Itunes

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Witch's Journey, animal rescue, Memorial Day, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Tena Stetler by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.

Oct 29th Halloween Spirit Search & All Hallows Eve Trivia

All Hallows Eve (Halloween) only two days left! Can you believe it? Toil and Trouble continued search for the Halloween Spirit is rewarded this week. You won’t believe what they found. LOL! Next to the pumpkin, sitting on the witch’s hat the Halloween Spirit giggling and shouting Happy Halloween. Click on the link to see the live version. IMG_2851

I love Halloween One day out of the year you can dress up and pretend to be anything you want and people don’t think you’re crazy. Okay, well, not as crazy as if it wasn’t Halloween!

With the usual snow predicted on Halloween, the first annual search for the Halloween Spirit countdown ends today Toil (Unicorn) and Trouble (dragon) have exciting news about All Hallows Eve Spirit. and called Dave to tell him.

Their friend, Dave (Skeleton), from Texas (thank you Jessica) after a weeks of searching for the Halloween Spirit delighted at Toil and Trouble’s news., Dave, Mort, Buster and little one celebrated by carving their Halloween Pumpkins.

With only two more days before Halloween, how about a little Halloween Trivia? Bwwwaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Celebrating a spooktacular Halloween. Toil and Trouble have found the Halloween Spirit.

Did you know, most present day Halloween traditions are traceable to the ancient Celtic day of the dead? Halloween consists of mysterious customs, but each has a history, or at least a story behind it.

Take wearing costumes, and roaming from door to door demanding treats. This behavior can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and about, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This is where the practice of trick-or-treating began. To this day, vampires, witches, ghosts, and skeletons are among the favorite costumes.

Our Halloween also retains activities from the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, (pumpkins) as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices for cider associated with the day. Although at my house, hot chocolate is pretty popular, since Halloween almost guarantees the first snow of the year. This year is no different.

Let’s switch gears for a moment and take a peek at Cripple Creek, Mining District of Colorado. With its history of unexplained, supernatural occurrences, tales of haunted hotels, casinos, and homes no wonder Cripple Creek is touted to be one of the most haunted placed in the United States! What better way to celebrate Halloween than visit a haunted Cripple Creek?

Many prospectors lost everything they had, some even their lives in the pursuit of gold. With the tales of fires, (Cripple Creek burned to the ground in 1896) floods, mining accidents, general lawlessness in the beginning then bloody battles between mine owners and labor unions, it’s no wonder stories abound of ghosts haunting this historic town that once boasted one murder a day.

Hotel St. Nicolas

Hotel St. Nicolas

So let’s take a closer look at those ghosts. First up, The Hotel St. Nicholas boasts a colorful history. Today its spectacular view of Cripple Creek, 15 guest rooms, furnished with elegance of a bygone era and one restored historic miner’s cottage still includes tales of the supernatural and unexplained. Originally built as a hospital that served the flood victims in the region in the late nineteenth century, it also served as a home for the Sisters of Mercy. As time went on, the hospital served prospectors and their families and then expanded adding a ward for the mentally ill. The hospital closed in the 1970’s. St. Nicholas is rumored to be haunted by several spirits including children, former patients of the mental ward, nuns and an old cantankerous miner. For more information see Hotel St. Nicholas.

The Imperial Hotel at Third Street and Bennett Avenue known originally as the Collins Hotel, was built after most the town burned to the ground in 1896. As a young man, George Long emigrated from Europe and eventually made his way to Denver. He married his first cousin and together they ran the hotel. The union produced two daughters and a son. The eldest daughter, Alice, was mentally disturbed and the parents were forced to keep her locked in their apartment next to the lobby for her safety and the safety of others. Soon after George fell to his death while negotiating the narrow stairs to the basement. Or some say Alice escaped, waited for him at the top of the stairs, struck him over the head and he crashed to his death from the stop of the stairs. It’s rumored his ghost haunts the hotel to this day.
My experience at the Imperial Hotel was at the performance of Dracula by the Imperial Players in early 1990’s. The performance was excellent, but the strong feeling of someone watching, icy patches and pressure on my arm and lower back, when no one was there. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. After meeting the cast in the lobby for an autograph session, my family and I quickly exited the hotel and raced to the safety of our vehicle, thankful that we hadn’t booked a room. Looking back on the experience, was it the performance of Dracula in the supposedly haunted hotel that caused my imagination to run wild, or was there really something there? I admit to having an overactive imagination, but not that time. In the years since, I’ve visited Cripple Creek on numerous occasions, to explore old buildings and mining shacks. My husband and I drive up Hwy 67 to enjoy the turning of the Aspens in autumn, but I haven’t set foot in the Imperial Hotel since that night.

Looking for fun Halloween Reads? A Witch’s Journey Series are full of meddling ghosts, shapeshifters, sexy witch, a ruggedly-handsome Navy SEAL. Exciting stories of paranormal romance, redemption, wildlife rescue, time travel, and Halloween festivals. Available at Amazon.com, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. And I let you in on a little secret., the entire series are available in audiobooks. You may want to grab them all.

If vampires, werewolves, faeries, shapeshifters are you thing. You are going to want to check out A Demon’s WItch Series! Great Halloween Reads or for every other day of the year!

Well, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to don my vampire costume, custom fitted fangs and pull up a stool in the shadows. With a candy cauldron beside me, I sneakily turn on the fog machine. Out of the mist, I’ll greet the little trick or treaters or scare the bejeebers out of the older ones with bats hanging over head and screeching on my command. Won’t you join me? Social DIstancing of course with mask. Happy Halloween! Happy Haunting! Bawahahaha

Hope you’ve enjoyed Toil and Trouble’s search for the Halloween Spirit and a bit of Halloween trivia, along with a snippet of my Spooktacular books. Happy Halloween!

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Witch's Holiday Wedding, A Witch's Journey, Chocolate Raspberry Magic, Halloween, Hidden Gypsy Magic, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Search for Halloween Spirit, Tena Stetler, Time travel, Witches by Tena Stetler with 8 comments.

Oct 27th A Witch’s Journey 99cents Sale #MFRWHooks

Yippee!! #MFRWHooks presents a Spooktacular #mystery, #fantasy #autumn read A Witch’s Journey, first book in A Witch’s Journey Series. You’re not going be believe what happens at the Halloween Fesitival, my paranormal romance/mystery. WooHoo! Former Navy Seal, Lathen Quartz helps Pepper, a powerful witch, achieve her life-long dream of a wild life rescue, but can they save the McKay magic

Join the #fantasy#adventure, download an e-book today! Psst… available in audiobook too!

#MFRWHooks, wildlife Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cauldron. Take your choice of a bat wing Chocolate Chip or Pumpkin, or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about A Witch’s Journey . first book in A Witch Journey Series. All books can be read as stand alone. Go ahead you know you want to grab a copy and join the #magical #fantasy, #adventure today! You’ll be so glad you did.

What is A Witch’s Journey all about?

Pepper McKay comes from a long line of powerful witches. Unfortunately, magic brings her nothing but trouble. She learned the love of wildlife rescue and rehab from her Aunt Ashling. After graduating from college, Pepper works for Salem Wildlife Sanctuary and lives from paycheck to paycheck until she inherits the McKay property in Lobster Cove. With the family land and resources, she dares to dream of starting her own wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center. But someone is trying to steal the McKay magic!

Lathen Quartz, a former Navy SEAL turned handyman maintains the enchanted McKay property for the McKay estate. But someone is trying to steal the McKay magic. Lathen offers to help Pepper achieve her life-long dream of building a wildlife center. During the long hours spent together on the project, their mutual attraction can’t be denied. But each harbors a deep, dark secret. Will they overcome their demons and give love a chance?

Sneak peek between the pages of A Witch’s Journey :

Klaren threw her coffee in his face, cup and all, then bolted out of his arms and down the stairs as a huge reddish wolf advanced snarling and leaped over the railing knocking Ben down the stairs. He hit the ground and tumbled down the path, he scrambled to get to his feet. But the wolf was too fast, one leap and animal landed on the Ben’s back, knocking him forward before he finally landed face down on the ground out cold. In a blink of an eye, the wolf was gone and witches closed in on all sides.

Pepper ran to her mother and helped her to her feet. “You ok?”

“I’m fine, just sorry I didn’t have time to get more information out of the son of a bitch. Did you see what he did? I wasn’t about to let him transport me to who knows where.” Klaren brushed at the knees of her jeans viciously.

The witches formed a circle around Ben. Wisps of fog trailed along the ground and took shape as spirits floating in the meadow. Duncan stepped forward and cast a spell ensnaring the man in vines of shimmering light.

“Don’t make the vines too tight around his neck, we need him to be able to speak,” Ravyn said in a calm lilting voice.

“Done,” Duncan replied.

Ravyn flicked her fingers, a bucket of water appeared over Ben’s head, it tipped and the liquid splashed over him.

Ben sputtered and cursed, his eyes wild.

“Mr. Bochard. It’s come to our attention that you are misusing magic for personal gain. You’ve called on dark magic to curse an innocent to do harm to your own kind. How do you plead?” Ravyn asked in a commanding tone.

“Bitch.” Ben bit out. “I only acted to get back what was mine.” He narrowed his eyes at Pepper.

She cast a blindfold on him. “Don’t want to take any chances. Not sure what he’s capable of.” Pepper said when Ravyn glared at her.

Ravyn nodded. “I’ll take that as a guilty plea, Mr. Bochard . Therefore, you are to be spellbound immediately.” She paused. “But first, Pepper do you have the candle?”

“Yes.” Pepper produced a tall, thick twisted black candle with beautifully carved moon phases on all sides.

“Step into the circle, face the full moon depiction north.” Raven closed her eyes and murmured several words. The candle ignited in a black flame flickered then faded to pure white.

Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here.

This is a blog hop! Visit all the Book Hooks from #MFRWHooks – Your next GREAT read is waiting!

Thanks for stopping in for #MFRWHooks.

Posted in Authors' Secrets Blog and tagged A Witch's Journey, animal rescue, Mystery, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Shapeshifters, Tena Stetler, Witches by Tena Stetler with 1 comment.

Oct 22nd All Hallows Eve Spirit Search and Halloween Safety for Pets!

All Hallows Eve (Halloween) only eight days left! Can you believe it? Toil and Trouble continue their search for the Halloween Spirit. This week, you won’t believe what they found. LOL! But Toil and Trouble’s quest for the Halloween Spirit continues. Do you decorate for Halloween? What do you do? Do you dress up your pets for Halloween? Do they hate it or enjoy the fuss you make over them when they’re dressed up? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your experiences!

Well, October is here with cooler days, chilly nights and snow on Pikes Peak. Yippee! As we continue the annual All Hallows Eve (Halloween) countdown, the aspens have turned to gold and the Colorado high county received its first snow. Toil (Unicorn) and Trouble (dragon) are hard at work in search of the All Hallows Eve Spirit. This week they discovered pumpkins and ghosts who’s seen the Spirit. Talking with each ghost behind dead trees and carved jack-o-lanterns Toil and Trouble determined they were really close this week and called Dave told him.

Their friend, Dave (Skeleton), from Texas (thank you Jessica) after a days search for the Halloween Spirit, after calling in friends to help in a long day of searching, Dave, Mort, Buster and little one took a much needed rest enjoying the beautiful October weather. Though the wrong dates continue on his pictures. Eight days Dave and Jessica!

Each week, on Friday, there will be new pictures of where Toil and Trouble are searching and how Dave is helping. As the month of October draws to an end, will their search been successful? Check back each week to find out This week Toil, Trouble and Dave will help me list Spooktacular tips to keep your pets safe on All Hallows Eve. Do you suffer from Samhainopobia? Its the fear of Halloween. LOL I sure don’t. !

Only eight days days until All Hallows Eve! Where is the Halloween Spirit? Bwwwaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

Spooktacular Tips for Pet Safety on All Hallows Eve!

Treats – Chocolate is poisonous to both cats, dogs and parrots. The darker it is the more toxic is its. One ounce of dark chocolate can poison a 50-pound dog. Keep these treats out of your pets’ reach. Make sure everyone in your household understands, especially children, how crucial it is that human treats not be given to pets.
Alarming sounds and sights – The constant doorbell, ringing, unfamiliar guest and little monsters running around is a recipe for disaster for your pets. They could try to escape or display unexpected aggression. Keep your pet sequestered in a section of the home where they can avoid this anxiety-causing activities. Provide food, favorite toys and check on them often.
Don’t leave pets outside! Pets have been know to be abused or killed on Halloween night by cruel people. I owned a black cat for twenty-two years, he was the best cat ever. But we made sure to keep him inside several days before Halloween and several days after.
Never take your dog trick or treating for all of the above reasons. Dogs can easily be spooked by all the Halloween hubbub. If they run away or bite someone it will end your evening of fun.
Dangerous Decorations – Electrical cords and batteries used to operate the exciting Halloween decorations can be hazardous to your pets. Chewing on cords can cause electrocution, chewing on batteries can cause chemical burns, if swallowed can cause intestinal blockage. Artificial cobwebs look cool as heck, but they can also present a choking or entanglement hazard to curious pets.
Nightmarish Pet Costumes – Most pets are happiest in the skin they were born in. LOL Yet
pet owners will dress their fur, scaled, or feathered babies up for Halloween. Don’t put your pet in a costume unless they are completely comfortable with it. I admit I dress up my dog and parrot for Halloween. I choose costumes they’re comfortable in, do not hinder movement, sight, hearing or ability to breathe, bark, scream, or meow. Yep, my bird meows.
Eerie Glow Items – Glow necklaces and Glow sticks can help keep people safe on Halloween, but pets not so much. They can cause gastrointestinal distress and chewed fragments can pose a choking hazard.
One last thought – Opening the door repeatedly for trick-or-treaters creates the possibility of pets to slip outside. Collars and tags work if someone locates and collects your wayward pet. Make sure the information on the tags is up-to-date. Microchips offer permanent identification. Just make sure your information is correct with the company who supports your pet microchips.

Plus a Halloween themed book from my collection will be featured each week: You do know I write paranormal romance/mystery. Right? This week, we are talking about Witches! What’s Halloween without witches, spells and curses and things that go bump in the night? A Witch’s Journey. So hurry grab your copy and join the #magical #fantasy #MYSTERY #adventure! You won’t believe what happens at their Halloween Festival.

A little about A Witch’s Journey:

Pepper McKay comes from a long line of powerful witches. Unfortunately, magic brings her nothing but trouble. She learned the love of wildlife rescue and rehab from her Aunt Ashling. After graduating from college, Pepper works for Salem Wildlife Sanctuary and lives from paycheck to paycheck until she inherits the McKay property in Lobster Cove. With the family land and resources, she dares to dream of starting her own wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center.

Lathen Quartz, a former Navy SEAL turned handyman maintains the enchanted McKay property for the McKay estate. But someone is trying to steal the McKay magic. Lathen offers to help Pepper achieve her life-long dream of building a wildlife center. During the long hours spent together on the project, their mutual attraction can’t be denied. But each harbors a deep, dark secret. Will they overcome their demons and give love a chance?

A peek at the All Hallows Eve prep in A Witch’s Journey:

Lathen put his hand on her shoulder. “Where’d you go? Been sitting there, knife extended above the pumpkin, for fifteen minutes. Are you going to carve it or just threaten it?” He guffawed and wrapped his large callused hand around hers holding the knife, brought it to the pumpkin, and made carving motions, then tried to hand her an erasable marker. “Try using this first.”

She pushed his hand away and frowned at him. “Oh, stop it. I was thinking about this evening after the celebration. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”

“It won’t. We have a solid plan and several powerful witches to bring it to fruition. So relax and enjoy the festivities of your favorite holiday. But the decorations will be lacking if you don’t get to carving. We need twenty-five jack-o-lanterns, by your own count, for the gazebo and surrounding area tables in the town square. I have the candles and holders for each right here.” As he swung the bag in front of Pepper, the tinkling sound of glass clinking together had her frowning.

Hope you enjoy Toil and Trouble’s search and Spooktacular Tips for Pet Safety on Halloween , along with a snippet of my book A Witch’s Journey. Happy Halloween. We are nearly down to the wire, check back next week and see what Toil and Trouble have discovered as well as the haunting of Cripple Creek, Colorado!